Saturday, December 3, 2016

I'll Be Quirky: Florida Atlantic

The Flying Dutchmen continued their early season Kardiac Kids run on Tuesday night, when they blew an 12-point lead late in the second half before recovering to edge Columbia, 88-86. The Dutchmen, who have had four of their eight games decided by four points or fewer this season, will look to continue their nail-biting ways tonight, when they visit Florida Atlantic. Here’s a quick look back at the Columbia win and a look ahead to Florida Atlantic.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Eli Pemberton hit what proved to be the game-winning free throws with 1:51 left and blocked a layup by C.J. Davis with five seconds left. The Dutchmen were outscored 17-7 in the final six minutes but held Columbia scoreless in its final four possessions, during which the Lions were 0-for-5 from the field. Brian Bernardi was 5-of-8 from 3-point land and scored 21 points to lead five Dutchmen in double figures. Pemberton (12 points), Ty Greer (15 points), Deron Powers (12 points) and Jamall Robinson (12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point land) helped make up for the struggles of Rokas Gustys, who had just six points and five rebounds while being limited to 13 minutes due to foul trouble. Robinson played most of his 29 minutes at the “5” in place of Gustys and Hunter Sabety, who finished with four fouls.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Florida Atlantic 11/29)

3: Brian Bernardi

2: Jamall Robinson

1: Eli Pemberton

SEASON STANDINGS

Brian Bernardi 11

Eli Pemberton 11

Justin Wright-Foreman 8

Rokas Gustys 7

Deron Powers 5

Ty Greer 4

Jamall Robinson 2

SNATCHING VICTORY FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY

The Dutchmen, who led by 11 with five minutes to play but were behind by one with two minutes left, won a game in which they blew a lead of at least seven points in the final five minutes for the fourth time in the past two seasons.

vs. Northeastern 1/21/16 (up 7 with 2:03 left, won 96-92 in 2OT)

vs. Elon 1/28/16 (up 10 with five minutes left, won 66-64)

vs. Towson 2/18/16 (up 8 with 4:21 left, won 84-82)

DUTCH ROK WITHOUT GUSTYS

For the first time since the start of the 2015-16 season the Dutchmen won a game in which Rokas Gustys finished with six or fewer rebounds.

Hofstra is 6-3 all-time against Florida Atlantic The Dutchmen won the most recent meeting between the teams last Dec. 22, when they beat the Owls, 68-54, at the Arena. This is the sixth time in the last eight seasons the two programs have played each other.

At KenPom.com today, Hofstra is ranked 179th while Florida Atlantic is ranked 229th.

Florida Atlantic is 2-4 this season, though it has only one win against a Division I foe (South Florida). The Owls lost to Tennessee-Martin, 82-81, in their most recent game Tuesday night.

Hofstra is 24-25 all-time against current Conference USA schools.

PEMBERTON HITS 100

Eli Pemberton, who was the first Hofstra freshman since Antoine Agudio (2004-05) to open his career by scoring in double digits in his first five games, is already the 19th Dutchmen freshman in the CAA era to score at least 100 points in his debut season. He is 11 points away from surpassing Aurimas Kieza for 16th place on the CAA-era freshman scoring list.

1.) Antoine Agudio, 452 (2004-05)

2.) Charles Jenkins, 436 (2007-08)

3.) Kenny Adeleke, 433 (2001-02)

4.) Loren Stokes, 374 (2003-04)

5.) Chaz Williams, 325 (2009-10)

6.) Jamall Robinson, 312 (2013-14)

7.) Halil Kanacevic, 294 (2009-10)

8.) Carlos Rivera, 226 (2003-04)

9.) Nathaniel Lester, 189 (2007-08)

10.) Shemiye McLendon, 178 (2010-11)

11.) Wendell Gibson, 153 (2001-02)

12.) Jordan Allen, 152 (2012-13)

13.) Chris Jenkins, 151 (2013-14)

14.) Rokas Gustys, 140 (2014-15)

15.) Mike Radziejewski, 138 (2001-02)

16.) Aurimas Kieza, 126 (2002-03)

17.) ELI PEMBERTON, 116 (2016-17)

18.) Woody Souffrant, 110 (2001-02)

19.) Moussa Kone, 100 (2011-12)

BERNARDI SECOND FOR THREES

Senior Brian Bernardi hit five 3-pointers Tuesday and now has 202 in his two-plus seasons at Hofstra. He surged past Carlos Rivera on Tuesday and ranks behind only Antoine Agudio on the school’s all-time list.